The wind howl through a crack in a window in an empty house is it a ghost howling at you.Floor boards creek In The Night is Someone There,You See Two Small Eyes Starring At You From The Dark is it a cat or is it a demon wait for you? WHO KNOW!!!!! WELOCOME TO THE WORLD OF PARANORMAL.

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

THE DYATLOV PASS ACCIDENT / ATTACK

Story Found bySally Jane JonesAdmin of group on facebookA Group of Skiers Found Dead of Unknown Supernatural Cause'sKholat Syakhl (Холат-Сяхыл) aka
Dyatlov's Pass

Mount Kholat Syakhl gets its name from the local Mansi language.
Literally it means the Mountain of the Dead. According to the legend 9 Mansi
hunters stayed here over night during their hunting trip. The next morning all
nine were found dead by their friends. None of them showed any signs of violent
death. Thus the mountain became regarded as haunted. Local native tribes avoided
the peak and never ventured here. It could be regarded as a cute local legend.
However increased active exploration of the region in the second half of the
twentieth century supported the grim name of the mountain. To this day people
die here. The cause of death often escapes rational explanation. Mysterious
number nine seems to haunt tourists, geologists and all those who dared to visit
this place. The most famous accident happened here in 1959 then nine young men
and women died under strange circumstances. The pass to Mount Kholat Syakhl
became known as Dyatlov Pass after their leader Igor Dyatlov. Today you can get
here by foot, helicopter and even a car.

Dyatlov Group Incident

The story starts in
January 1959 in Sverdlovsk that is currently known as Ekaterinburg. Several
students from Ural Polytechnical Institute (Уральский Политехнический Институт,
УПИ) currently known as Ural State Technical Institute intended to climb Mount
Otorten (Отортен). In Mansi language this name means "don't go there". The whole
ski track was about 350 km in length and was performed to commemorate 21st
Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The group of Dyatlov
initially consisted of 10 people. However one of them, Yuriy Udin, got sick so
he was not capable to do the climb. Yuriy stayed in the base camp. Thus only
nine people started the accent to the mountain Kholat Syakhl through a nameless
pass that later will become known as a Dyatlov Pass. Toward the end of same
February group failed to communicate. A rescue party made up from local
authorities as well as student volunteers repeated the path taken by the group
and found the last base of the tourists including 5 out of 9 bodies. Cameras
were found at the site of the tents that they abandoned. Pictures clearly show
high morale, relaxed atmosphere in a group and good preparedness for the harsh
winter of the region.

(Игорь Дятлов), the group's leader. He was born in 1937. A student of the
5Th Faculty of Radio Engineering UPI university. A talented engineer designed
and assembled a radio during his 2ND year, that was used during hikes in 1956 in
Sayan Mountains. He also designed a small stove that was used since 1958 by
Dyatlov himself. It was taken during the last trip since it proved its
functionality. People who knew Igor described him as a thoughtful man who never
rushed with his decisions. He courted Zina Kolmogorova who also took part of the
hike. Apparently she liked him as well. Igor Dyatlov was one of the most
experienced athletes in the group who also traced the path of the group.

Semen "Alexander" Zolotarev

Семен "Александр" Золотарёв)- He
was born in 1921. He was the oldest and also the most mysterious member of the
group. A native of North Caucasian Kuban Cossacks he survived the Great
Patriotic War serving from October 1941 till May 1946. Survival rate for
generation born in 1921- 22 was 3% so Semen Zolotarev was very very lucky man.
Additionally his real name was Semen while everyone called him "Sasha" or
"Alexander". There is no credible evidence of why he chose to introduce himself
by a different name. It is known that he joined a Communist party after the war.
In April 1946 Zolotarev transferred to Leningrad Military Engineering
University. Later he transferred to Mink Institute of Physical Education
(GIFKB). In the yearly 50's he worked as a guide for tourist base of "Artybash"
in Altai in South Siberia. Although his carrier might seem usual it is hard to
explain certain points in his biography. He could have stayed in the army, but
left it. He could have stayed and work as a tourist guide at one tourist base
and yet he moves across the country repeatedly without explanation. Additionally
being a Cossack from the South it is highly unusual that he never got married,
never had any kids and had numerous strange tattoos that he hid under his
clothing. These tattoos included his birth year "1921", a military slogan as
well as letter Г+С+П=Д. The last was common among Soviet
soldiers who served together for a long time. Russian letter "Д" stands for "дружба" or "friendship".
Three letters were first letters of the three soldiers. "С"
stood for "Семен" or "Semen" in Russian. Others two
names are unknown. We can only make guesses.

Lyudmila Dubinina

(Людмила Дубинина)- born in 1938 she was a third year student in UPI
university in Engineering and Economics Major. She was active in tourist club,
liked to sing and take pictures. Many of the pictures of the last trip were done
by her. During an expedition to the Eastern Sayan Mountains in 1957 she received
an accidental gunshot from another tourist who was cleaning a rifle. She endured
a painful injury courageously. During long and very painful transportation she
did not complain and even felt sorry for causing too many troubles to the group.

Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle

(Николай Тибо-Бриньоль)- born in 1934 he graduated in 1958 with major in
Civil Engineering from UPI University. He was son of a French Communist who was
executed during Stalin years. He himself was born in concentration camp for
political prisoners. His friends liked him for his energy, good sense of humor
and generally friendly open character. Nicolai promised his mother that this
would be his last hiking trip.

Alexander Kolevatov

(Александр Колеватов)- born in 1934, he was a 4th year student at a Physics
Major in UPI University. Priory to moving to Sverdlovsk he finished Sverdlovsk
Mining and Metallurgy Collegy majoring in metallurgy of heavy nonferrous metals.
He distinguished himself as agood student and moved to Moscow to work in secret
institute of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building that was called merely by
its serial number of I 3394. Later he moved to Research Insitute of Inorganic
Materials that was engaged in producing materials for the growing nuclear
industry. In 1956 he moved back to Sverdlovsk and joined UPI. His friends
described him as diligent, pedantic, methodical with clear leadership qualities.

Yuri Krivonischenko

(Юрий Кривонищенко)- born in 1935 he graduated from UPI University in 1959.
While working in Chelyabinsk- 40 a secret nuclear facility he experienced a
disaster that became known as Kushtumkoy Accident. On September 29, 1957
plutonium plant experienced radioactive leak. Yuri Or George Krivonishenko was
among the people who was sent to clean it up. His body will wear clothes that
have traces of radioactivity that some trace to this particular event. However
being an engineer Yuri had more knowledge about radioactivity than most people
at the time and it is highly unlikely that he kept any of the clothes that he
was wearing two years prior to the trip.

Rustem Slobodin

(Рустем Слободин)- born in 1936 he graduated from UPI University in 1959. He
was a very athletic man, honest and descent, although quiet at times. He liked
to play mandolin that he often took during long hiking trips. His father was a
professor at another Sverdlovsk University. Although Rustem was ethnically
Russian his father gave him a traditional Tatar name following a popular fashion
of international friendship of all men. This was USSR after all with its own
ideology.

Yuri Doroshenko

(Юрий Дорошенко)- Born in 1938 he was a student of the same UPI university.
He was involved in a relationship with Zina Kolmogorova and even went to met her
parents in Kamensk- Urals. Although they broke up he kept a good relationship
with Zina Kolmogorova and Igor Dyatlov.

Zinaida Kolmogorova

(Зинаида Колмогорова)- born in 1937, she was 4th year student at UPI
University at Radio Engineering Major. She was an experienced hiker who had her
share of difficulties. During one of her trips she was bitten by a viper.
Despite pain and suffering that this bite caused her she refused lighten her
load, unwilling to cause hardship to others.

This photo was taken with the group & since what attack them is unknown, this photo reveals something odd in the foreground behind the table.

On a closer look you would think this was one of the skier but if you look long enough the face looks non-human could this be the clue to what attack them on the night of 1959 ? Its still remains a mystery to this day.

Dyatlov Group Diary

Original diary of the group was discovered in the tent. We kept it as it was in
the original form. You can make a psychological portrait of the people who wrote
it. It is short and some of its sentences apparently made short on purpose to
keep to the point. We didn't add anything. The sentences and events behind them
apparently meant more for the people who were describing them. They did not see
much point in writing out the whole experience. Just few words to remember.

January 23, 1959

Now we are
sitting in the room 531, or rather of course do not sit, but rather frantically
shoving into backpacks any oatmeal, cans, canned meat. Zavchoz (head of
provision distribution) stands and makes sure everything is included. Where
are my felt boots? Y.K (Yuri Krivonischenko) Can we play mandolin on the
train? Of course! We forgot the salt! 3kg (kilograms) Igor! Where are
you? Where is Doroshenko? Why did he take 20 packs? Give me 15 kopecks. Spring
balance, spring balance. Where is spring balance. Can't fit it. Damn. Who has
the knife? Yura drove it to the station. Slave Khalizov has arrived. Hallo,
Hallo! Luda is counting the money. The room is an artistic mess. And here we are
on the train. We sang all the songs that we know, learned new ones, everyone
goes to sleep at 3 (am). I wonder what awaits us in this trip? What will
be new? The boys solemnly swore not to smoke the entire trip. I wonder how much
they have will power, if they can get by without cigarettes? Everyone is
sleeping and Ural taiga is spread in all directions.

Zoya
Kolmogorova

(23 January- The
group leaves Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg today))

January 24

(7am) We arrived in Serov (town). We traveled with a group of Blinov.
They have... things for hunting and other accessories. At the station we were
met with "hospitality". They didn't allow us into the building. The policeman
stares at us suspiciously. There is no crime or violation, as under communism.
Yuri Krivonischenko started to sing a song and a cop grabbed him and took him
away. Sergeant explained that the rules of Section 3 prohibited all activity
that would disturb the peace of passengers. It is perhaps the only train station
where the songs are forbidden. Finally everything is settled with the law. Going
to Ivdel from Serov at 6:30pm. We were welcomed warmly in school near the
railway station. Zavchos, who is also a janitor, heated water for us, gave us
everything she could to help us during our track. We are free all day. I wanted
to go to the city, visit nature museum or take a trip to a factory, but too much
time is taken by distribution of equipment and training. 12:00pm In the interval
between 1st and 2ND shifts in school we organized a meeting with the students.
Small room is cramped with all the kids that are curious. Zolotarev: "Kids, now
we'll tell you... Tourism is, makes it possible to..." Everyone is sitting,
quiet, worried. Z. Kolmogorova: Tra- ta- ta- ta. What's your name? Where were
you before? And she went on and on. There was no end of questions toward Zina.
We had to explain every detail to the kids, from torches to setting up tents. We
spent 2 hours lecturing and kids did not want to let us go. They sang songs to
each other. At the station we saw the whole school. In the end, when we were
leaving, the kids yelled and cried, asking Zina to remain with them. They
promised to listen to her and study well. On a train station some young
alcoholic accused us of stealing his wallet from a pocket. For the second time
the police is on the scene. Debate- talk about love thanks to provocation by Z.
Kolmogorova. Songs, revision, Dubinina under the seat, garlic bread without
water and we arrived in Ivdel around 12am. Large waiting room. Total freedom of
action. Took turns all night to keep stuff safe. Bus to Vijay leaves early in
the morning.

Yura Yudin

Culture Palace in Serov as the tourists saw it

Night of 25th January- the Dyatlov Group arrives in Ivdel that is located 340 km
North of starting point)

January 26

We slept in so- called hotel. Two people per bed. Sasha K. (Alexander
Kolevatov) and Krivoy (Yuri Krivonischenko) slept on the floor between
beds. Woke up at 9am. Everyone sleep well despite the fact we did not completely
close the small window and room got a bit cold. Outside temperature is -17C. We
did not boil in the morning, wood is moist, in the evening it took us 6 hours to
boil water. Went to lunch in the dining room. Had some goulash and tea. Then
they served tea Igor Dyatlov spoke with a smile: "If the tea is cold, then go
out and drink it on the street, it will be hot". The original though. Agreed to
go to 41 by car. We left only at 13:10 (1:10pm). Froze while riding on
top of GAZ- 63. While traveling sang songs, discussed various topics, including
love, friendship and problems of cure for cancer. 41st settlement they met us
friendly, gave us a private room in the hostel. Talked with the local workers. I
remembered particularly the red- bearded man. The Beard as his friends call him.
Ognev, old friend, described by Lyuba Dubinina in her private diary. Cooked
lunch, then ate and now resting. Half of the group is watching movie, another is
sitting on backpacks doing their things. Rustik (Rustem Slobodin) is
playing his mandolin, while talking with Nicky, and I am going to deal with
adjusting the equipment.

Krivonischenko

(26th January- the group leaves Ivdel and get a ride with GAZ 63 to the 41st
Kvartal (Quarter))

01/26/59

I can't. although I tried.

Nick Thibault

1/27/59

The weather is
good, the wind is blowing in the back. Guys agreed wit the locals and horse with
drive us to Second Severniy settlement. From 41st settlement it will be about 24
km. We helped grandfather Slava to unload hay from a carriage and waited for the
horse (she went to get more hay and wood). We waited until 4:00. Boys started
rewriting some song. One guy san beautifully. We heard a number of illegal
prison songs (Article 58 counter- revolutionary crimes). Ognev told Igor
how to find the house in which we can spend the night. We bought four loaves of
bread and went there at 4:00. Soft warm bread. Ate 2 pieces. Horse is slow. What
a pleasure to go without backpacks. We covered 8 km in 2 hours. (River Ushma).
It gets darker. All the delay due to a horse. Yuri Yudin is riding with us. He
suddenly fell ill and he can't continue with the track. He wants to gather few
local minerals for the University and return. Second Severniy (Northern)
is an abandoned village of geologists with total of 2025 houses. Only one is
suitable for living. In complete darkness we found a village and the house. We
started a fire. Several people pierced their hands with old nails. Everything is
good. Then the horse came. We were talking and throwing jokes till 3 o'clock in
the morning.

Doroshenko

(27th January- Dyatlov group leaves Vizhay and set on a trip to Mount Otorten)

January 28

We were awaken by Yurka Kri and Sasha Kolevatov. Weather is perfect. It is
only -8C outside. After breakfast, some of the guys headed by Yury Yudin, our
well- known geologist, went to look for local minerals. They didn't find
anything except pyrite and quartz veins in the rock. Spend some time with skiis,
fixed and adjusted the mounting. Yuri Yudin now goes back home. It is a pity, of
course, that he leaves us. Especially for me and Zina, but nothing can be done
about it.

Luda Dubinina

(28th January- Yuri
Yudin departs from a Second Severniy (Northern) village. Few picture of the
village are below. Another depressing abandoned place on vast stretches of
Siberia. Some of the houses ("izba" in Russian) are abandoned and began to fall
apart.)

We go up the
river Lozva. We take turns to head the group for about 10 minutes. Depth of snow
cover is significantly less than last year. Often we have to stop and scrape the
wet, melting snow from skis. Yurka Kri is behind and makes sketches of the
route. We pass few cliffs on the right bank of Lozva river. Overall the terrain
becomes flatter. We stop at 5:30pm. Today we spend our first night in the tent.
The guys are busy with the stove. With some thing completed and others not, we
sit for a dinner. After dinner we sit around the campfire and sing beautiful
songs. Zina even tries to learn how to play mandolin under guidance of our
musician Rustik (Rustem Slobodin). Then again and again we resume our
discussions, mostly about love. Someone comes up with an idea that we need a
special notebook for ideas that we might come up with. Once we are done we are
making our way inside the tent. No body wants to sleep by the stove and we agree
that Yurka Kri will sleep there. Yuri moves to the second compartment with
terrible cursing and accusation that we betrayed him. We can't fall asleep for
awhile and arguing about something.

01.29.59

Second day of our trip. We made our way from Lozvy river to river Auspii. We
walked along a Mansi (native Siberian tribe in the Urals) trail. The
weather is -13C. The wind is weak. We often find ice on the Lozvy river. That is
it.

Nick Thibault

January 30, 1959

Diary is written on the cold on the go. Today is a third cold night on the
shore of Auspii river. The stove does a great job. Some (Thibaut and
Krivonischenko) think we need to construct steam heat in the ten. The
curtains hung in the tent are quiet justified. We get up at 8:30am. After
breakfast we walk along the Auspii river, but again these ice dams do not allow
us to move forward. Let's go to the shore of the sledge- deer trail. In the
middle of the road the discovered markings left by the Mansi (below left
photo, these markings simply tell how many local hunters passed through this
area and the family clan to which they belong). Mansi, Mansi, Mansi. This
words is repeated more often in our conversations. Mansi are people of the
north. Very interesting and unique people that inhabit the North Polar Urals,
closed to the Tyumen region. They have a written language and leave
characteristic signs on forest trees.

Other photo taken with a strange out of place black mass that looks like a creature of some kind in the foreground

a closer look

Dyatlov's tent with a stove sticking out from one side

01/30/59

Weather: temperature in the morning is between -17 C and -13C during the day
and -26C at night. The wind is strong, south- west and snow begins to fall. The
clouds are think. The temperature characteristic of the Northern Urals. Mansi
signs tell about animals they saw, resting stops and other things. It is
particularly interesting to solve its meaning for the tourists as well as
historians. Deer trail is over. The forest gradually thins out and gets shorter.
Lots of dwarf birches and pines. It is impossible to walk on the river. It is
not frozen. We have to look for solid ground. Day wore on and we started to look
for a place for bivouac. That's the stop for the night. Strong west wind. It
knocks the snows off the cedar and pine trees, creating the impression of the
falling snow. As always we start a fire and put a tent on the spruce branches.
We are warmed by the fire and go to sleep.

January 31, 1959

Today the
weather is a bit worse than the wind (west), snow (probably from pines) because
the sky is perfectly clear. Came out relatively early (around 10am). Took the
same beaten Mansi trail. So far we walked along the Mansi trail, which was
passed by a deer hunter not long ago. We met his resting stop yesterday,
apparently. Today was surprisingly good accommodations for the tent, air is warm
and dry, despite the low temperature of -18C to -24C. The walking is especially
hard today. Visibility is very low. We walk for 1.52 km (1 mile) per
hour. We are forced to find new methods of clearing the path for the skis. The
first member leaves his bag on the ground and walks forward, then he returns,
rests for 10- 15 minutes with the group Thus we have a non- stop paving of the
trail. It is especially hard for the second to move down the new trail with full
gear on the back. We gradually leave the Auspii valley, the rise is continuous,
but quiet smooth. We spend a night at the forest boundary. Wind is western,
warm, penetrating. Snow- free spaces. We can't leave any of our provision to
ease the ascend to the mountains. About 4pm. We must choose the place for the
tent. Wind, some snow. Snow cover is 1.22 meters thick. Tired and exhausted we
started to prepare the platform for the tent. Firewood is not enough. We didn't
dig a hole for a fire. Too tired for that. We had supper right in the tent. It
is hard to imagine such a comfort somewhere on the ridge, with a piercing wind,
hundreds kilometers away from human settlements.

Igor Dyatlov
(last record in the diary)

(31st January-
Dyatlov group leaves some of their gear in a forest on a platform set high above
ground (known as "labaz" or camp base).)

(1st February- The group leaves on the last day of their trip. They start out
fairly late and walk for only 2.5 miles. They set a tent around 5pm on a slope
of Kholat Syakhl just 10 miles from the Mount Otorten. They eat their last
dinner between 6- 7pm. Subsequent investigation showed that one or two of the
members left the tent to urinate outside of the tent. Since Semen Zolotarev and
Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle were better dressed it was suggested that it was the
two men who left their shelter before Something happened.)

Last Pictures of the Group ALIVE!

These are the last pictures of the group made on February 1st, 1959. Records
show that the sun set behind horizon at 5:02pm on this date. Pictures were made
just before the night descended on the mountain. Judging by photos they are well
equipped by well protected. At least by the standards of that time. Low
visibility due to wind and snow is an important aspect, since this could
significantly impact the movement of the group. Hypothermia and confusion can
set it much quicker in these conditions. Disorientation on familiar terrain can
happen very quickly and might result in death of a an unlucky victim.
Nevertheless Igor Dyatlov and his group set up a tent on a empty slope of the
Kholat Syakhl mountain. Some searchers testified that there was no firewood
present. Although other witnesses claim to see a wooden log abandoned in the
tent. Whatever might be the case the tourists chose to sleep in the cold
conditions. Later finding showed that they started their dinner when something
happened. This "something" still has people puzzled to this day.

This picture puzzles many people. This is the last picture that was made by the
camera of the Dyatlov group. Some say someone accidentally snapped a picture
after the tent was discovered. Others claim it was damaged. Some see a man with
raised hands and something flashing or burning in the background. Many
explanations have surfaced. There is no agreement on it nature though

The investigation Discovery

Dyatlov group Tent after attack inside the tent

The tent was cut from the inside out as they tryed to escape the tent from something that attacked them.

Participants of the search

Boris E. Slobcov

Michael P. Sharavin

Vadim D. Brusnicin

Moses Akselrod

Eugene P. Maslenikov

Georgy S. Ortykov

Lev Nikitich Ivanov

Initially the
officials were hesitant to sound an alarm about tourists when they missed their
day they were supposed to call. from Vizhay Group of Blinov that was mentioned
in the Dyatlov diary on January 24th returned in the middle of February and
reported a heavy snowstorm in the area of the Kholat Syakhl and future Dyatlov
Pass. In light of this information it was assumed that tourists are spending
these extra days somewhere in the safety. Risking lives to make extra miles do
get back at the due date made no sense. Head of sport club of UPI, Lev
Semenovich Gordo, even lied about receiving a telegram from Dyatlov about the
delay to calm parents of Dubinina and Kolevatov. He assumed that in few days the
group of Igor Dyatlov is going to make it anyway. Relatives eventually forced to
organize a search party by complaining to the local head of the Communist party.
Negative publicity was unwanted and actions had to be taken. The head of the
military department of UPI, Colonel Georgy Semenovich Ortyukov, took charge of
search and rescue party. Many of students volunteered to find look for their
lost friends. Several rescue parties were sent to the region on 21st of
February. One of these groups were headed by Blinov and another Sogrin. Both
groups just returned from their trips and knew the conditions of the region.
Another group of Vladislav Karelin was in the area and joined the search effort.
Planes took off from Ivdel airport to search for the group from the air.

On February 22nd
several prison guards from the IvdelLAG under leadership of captain A.A.
Chernischev and another 7 officers of MVD (cops) under command of leutenant
Potapov have joined the search. Another three groups were formed in UPI from
student volunteers under leadership of Oleg Grebennik, Moises Akselrod and Boris
Slobcov. Additionally local mansi hunters volunteered to help and look for the
vanished group. Moscow sent several specialists including E.P. Maslenikov,
Baskin, Bardin and Schulzhenko.

On February 23rd
group of Boris Slobcov was dropped near mount Otarten, a final destination for
Dyatlov. The next day on February 24th they reached the mountain and came to
conclusion that tourists never made it this far. Students did not find any
records, flags or anything else that would indicate recent visit of a group.

On February 25th
Boris Slobcov and his group finally discovered the trail of skis that he assumed
to be that of Dyatlov. The next day on February 26th they discovered the tent on
the slope of Kholat Syakhl. Ironically Slobcov was among those who actually
helped to construct the tent three years earlier from two tents, making it
longer and larger. He recognized it immediately. Unfortunately no one expected
to find the tourists dead so there was no attempt to preserve or record the
footprints of people around the Dyatlov Pass. To this day there has been a
discussion of exactly how many people were in this pass on that fateful day.
However judging by words of the people involved in the search and who took the
lower right picture there were definitely 8- 9 tracks of footprints left by
tourists who wore almost no footwear. Their feet pressed the snow and this left
a characteristic "columns" of pressed snow with a footprint on top. Members of
the group walked in a single file with a tall men walking in the back. His
footprints partially covered footprints of his friends who walked in front of
him. Overall the path gave an impression of organized and uneventful descent
down the slope of the mountain. Several trails would deviate from the general
direction, but then rejoin the group. Other footprints were also discovered and
photographed. It is hard to say if these were left by someone else or rescuers
themselves.

The first thing
that the rescue party discovered was a tourist tent with the stove that the
Dyatlov made by himself. For reasons that are were never answered, the sides of
the tent were cut by the tourists. Judging by the number of cuts they were made
from inside. It is hard to explain why they chose this strange exit for leaving
the tent completely ignoring the entrance. Many of the members were not fully
clothed then this happened. Yet, warm clothes, shoes, sweaters, knives and
anything that could keep them warm and help survive in Siberian wilderness were
abandoned. In fact most of the footwear and clothes were stacked in the middle
and edges of the tent. Additionally Boris Slobcov discovered a flash light of
Chinese production on the roof of the tent. It laid on a snow cover 5-10 cm in
thickness and had no snow on top. He turned on the flashlight. It was in working
condition. Students retrieved three photo cameras from the tent, group diary,
some alcohol and few minor things. They hurried down the mountain to the
campsite that was already established at the base of the mountain. Several mansi
natives joined the group. Additionally Egor Semenovich Nevolin, a radioman,
joined the search party. At 6pm they radioed back about their discovery on the
last campsite of the Dyatlov group. UPI informed them that a large search group
with will be delivered by a helicopter to their location. They would also
deliver two large military tents for better comfort and security. A detective
would join the search and rescue effort with Colonel Ortyukov as well.

Several members
started cooking dinner while every one else attempted to find clues about the
direction of future searches. They found 710 rubles and railroad tickets for the
whole group. Most took this as a sign of a good omen. They assumed that
criminals were not involved since they would steal everything of value. During
dinner Boris Slobcov raised a toast for the health of his friends and expressed
hope that they will be found soon. One of the locals, Ivan Paschin, was less
optimistic about prospects of finding everyone alive and suggested that they
should probably drink for the dead rather than the living. It was a big mistake.
Students took these words as offensive and almost beat up the local for his
pessimism. Still no one could believe in the possibility that that group of
young women and men can simply perish like that in Siberian Taiga.

27th February- The
next morning Yury Koptelov and Michael Scharavin went to look for a new place
for a campsite. They explored the valley of the Lozva river when a tall cedar
attracted their attention. A fairly even and large area near this cedar could
provide the search party a better view of the mountain and surrounding
locations. Both men approached the cedar and stopped. Two bodies lay in the snow
and remains of the fire were visible near by. Bodies were carefully laid side by
side. Snow wasn't very deep in this location due to constant blow of the wind so
it became very clear that they found two bodies of the missing group. The first
thing that stroke the searching group was the cloths of the dead. They had no
shoes and were almost completely naked. Some theories later will blame this on
"paradoxical undressing", but we will see later that it had nothing to do with
the mental condition of the tourists. Prosecutor of Ivdel, Vasily Ivanovich
Tempalov, discovered another body just 400 meters from the cedar. The body of a
man laid on the back with his head pointing in the direction of the tent.
Students quickly recognized Igor Dyatlov, the head of the group. Mansi hunters
with their dogs started to explore the mountain side and quickly discovered the
body of Kholmogorova about 500 meters from Dyatlov group. The position of her
body pointed in the direction of the tent. It became evident that both tourists
actually tried to make way from the tall cedar back to the tent, but didn't make
it all the way.

Two Bodies under Cedar. Still unidentified

Bodies of Yuri Krivonishenko and Yuri Doroshenko on the left. On the right are
remains of the extinguished fire and a cedar that according to some tourists is
still there. Although it is hard to find the exact location today.

Igor Dyatlov top how his body was found,bottom with the snow removed.

Zina Kholmogorova body

Meanwhile the
contents of the tent from the Dyatlov group were removed. This happened
chaotically, without any order, photos or even presence of anyone from the law.
Students simply removed the objects and attempted to organize belongings by
name. We can understand their honest desire to return these things to families
of the dead, however in doing so they undermined any research in this area. We
have only few testimonies from the people who undertook these actions. Some of
them were conflicting and thus more confusing. They discovered that the group
was apparently was about to have their dinner. A self made newspaper "Evening
Otorten" was also found here. The date was marked as 1st February 1959. One of
the unusual and unexpected findings was a skiing pole that with clear cutting
marks. Tourists didn't have any extra poles. It is unclear why someone in the
right mind would damage the pole on purpose. Among other things tourists also
left their footwear. Many had two pairs, one for the actual hike and another,
softer one, were used in the tent to keep warm at night. Both pairs were found
abandoned. This could be explained that whatever forced them out of the tent
came in the time then everyone was changing and preparing for a sleep.
Additionally the tent contained several knives and hatchets. These were
abandoned too for some reason, although some tourists had knives with them when
they left.

Next week of search
did not yield any results. Only thing that was found was another Chinese flash
light in the valley of Lozva valley. The batteries were dead, but the flash
light was in "on" position. On March 2nd three students and two Mansi hunters
discovered a camp base in the Auspiya valley. Tourists left some of their food
provision and gear to lighten the load (55 kg in total). Additionally there were
mandolin of Rustem Slobodin, few clothes, ski shoes and a pair of skis. On the
way back tourists intended to retrieve these things. None of these things were
taken however.

On March 3rd many
of the students returned home, since they had to return to their studies. Moscow
specialists also left. Their report is somewhat short and inconclusive. They
could not explain the reason why would several normal people would abandon the
tent in the middle of the night without shoes and little protection from the
wind.

On March 5th the
body of Rustem Slobodin was recovered. He was discovered on the same general
line from a cedar to a tent. His position was in between bodies of Dyatlov (180
meters away) and Kholmogorova (150 meters). He was the only member of the group
that fell while fairly warm. The head from his body melted the snow that
subsequently froze forming a frozen bed underneath the dead body. His watches
recorded 8:45.

The cedar had its
lower branches cut. Later inspection showed that part of human skin and blood
was still lodged in the bark crevices. Bodies of both tourists were laying side
by side near an extinguished fire. Part of their clothes were carefully cut off.
Pants of Yuri Krivonishenko were left in place. They showed certain degree of
radioactivity. After initial discovery of five bodies remaining four tourists
were found almost half a mile away in May of the same year. This group managed
to dig a den in the snow to keep themselves warm. These bodies had broken ribs,
broken skull and in case of Lyudmila Dubinina a missing tongue. Above you see a
tent that belonged to the group.

Judging by the type
of helicopters and their markings there were at least three machines involved in
search and rescue efforts. This included at least one civilian (bottom left
picture) and at least two military helicopters. Soviet Union rarely showed so
much dedication in search of common tourists. Some explain this care as ties to
KGB of one or more members from the Dyatlov group. However another explanation
might lie in the fact that climb of Mount Otorten was devoted to Communist
Congress in Moscow. Obviously it had certain degree of political motivation for
the officials to spare no costs in searches.

Investigation Findings

Judging by the remains near the bodies it was concluded that young men and women
managed to start a fire, but failed to sustain it for extended period of time.
However no one could explain why bodies showed so many fractures, internal
bleeding, burned parts of the body. Another perplexity and mystery were added by
a fact that two of the sweaters showed increased radiation levels. A fact that
no one could explain fifty years ago and to this day remains a mystery. Several
witnesses and family members reported strange discoloration on the bodies of the
victims. One of the family members compared their skin color to those of the
people of African descent. Additionally the group was missing at least one
camera and a diary of Kolevatov. Yury Yudin testifies that he led a detailed
description in his own blog in addition to the diary that was a group diary. It
went missing either on the mountain or from evidence room. Either way no one
remembered seeing it.

Ludmila Dubinina Body

bodies of Alexander Kolevatov and Nikolay Thibeaux-Brignolle

Den

The den was made by surviving four members of the Dyatlov group 70- 75 meters
from the cedar in a ravine that was hidden from cold winds. It was probably an
idea of Zolotarev. It was a common way to survive winters at the front and given
the circumstances it offered the best chance for survival for those who remained
behind waiting in hope that their three friends will make it to the top of the
mountain. It further undermines the theory of paradox undressing. The group
clearly realized their threats and did everything they could to preserve
themselves. Cedar branches were brought here and laid out to minimize contact of
human bodies and cold snow underneath. Furthermore Ludmila Dubinina had sweater
and pants of Krivonischenko. Both as it turned out had radiation present on
them. However the strangeness of the case was not resolved. In fact it became
more weird. All, but three members had significant damage to their bones. They
were crushed with immense force. Doctors compared the extend of the damage to
being hit by a car. A second thing that is striking about the den is that bodies
were actually found few feet from their improvised shelter in the deep part of
the ravine on the area of only 4 square meters. Some of the clothes that were
taken from bodies left underneath the cedar tree were placed on the cedar
branches, but apparently they were not used.

Ortyukov is in military uniform and radio man is pictured here in a
stripped hat. Removal of the bodies from a ravine.

Dubinina and Thibeaux-Brignolle bodies

Zolotarev and Kolevatov bodies

Medical Autopsy of the bodies

Autopsy of first four bodies (Doroshenko, Krivonischenko, Dyatlov, Kholmogorova)
was performed in a village of Vizhai on March 4th, 1959 by Boris Alekseevich
Vozrojdenniy (ironically his last name means "reborn" in Russian, interesting
choice of profession). He recorded damages and clothing that the victims wore at
the time of their discovery. Autopsy of Rustem Slobodin who was found on the 5th
of March was performed on 8th of March.

Yuri Doroshenko

Yury Doroshenko is
one of the two tourists that were found under a cedar. He was most sturdy and
tallest member of the group at a height of 180 cm. He was wearing a vest and a
shirt, short sleeve shirt, knit pants and shorts over pants. On his feet a pair
of wool socks. Pants had tears inside of the thighs. Additionally the left foot
had burnt socks (marked by 13). No footwear.

- ear, nose and lips are covered by
blood (marked by 2)

- right armpit has a bruise 2cm*1.5 cm
(3)

- inner surface of the right shoulder
has two abrasions 2cm*1.5cm with no bleeding in the tissues, two cuts on the
skin (5)

- in the upper third of right forearm
brown- red bruises with size 4*1cm, 2.5*1.5cm, 5*5cm (6)

- fingers on both hands have torn skin
(9 and 10)

- bruised skin in the upper third of
both legs (11)

- signs of frostbite on face and
ears

- on the right cheek, foamy gray fluid
discharges from the mouth

Amount of urine was 150 grams. Foamy
grey fluid that was found on the right cheek of the deceased gave some doctors a
reason to think that before death someone or something was pressing on his chest
cavity. Discharges were quiet common during forceful interrogation by the NKVD
(Stalin's Secret Police) and Special Forces. This could also be a reason of a
nasty fall from a tree. Nevertheless this aspect was ignored in the final
papers. Cause of death: hypothermia.

George (Yuri) Krivonischenko

His body was the second discovered
underneath the cedar. He was dressed in shirts, long sleeved shirt, swimming
pants, pants and torn sock on his left leg. He had no footwear.

- bruises on the forehead 0.3*1.8cm and
a bruise around left temporal bone (1)

- diffuse bleeding in the right
temporal and occipital region due to damage to temporalis muscle (2)

- tip of the nose is missing (3)

- frostbitten ears (4)

- bruises on the right side of the
chest 7*2cm and 2*1.2cm (5)

- bruises on hands (6)

- detachment of the epidermis on the
back of his left hand at width of 2cm (7)

- portion of the epidermis from the
right hand is found in the mouth of the deceased

- bruises on the thighs (8-11) with
minor scratches

- bruise on his left buttock 10*3cm
(16)

- abrasions on the outer side of the
left size 6*2cm and 4*5 cm (17-18)

- bruises on the left leg 2*1, 2*1.5
and 3*1.3 cm (19-21)

- burn on the left leg 10*4 cm (15)

The amount of urine in the bladder was
500 grams. Cause of death: hypothermia. He froze to death. The presence of skin
between his teeth that was torn from his hands might suggest that Krivonischenko
tried to stay on the cedar as long as he could. Some theories speculate it was a
result of his dedication to cut as many tree branches as he could. Others claim
something on the ground kept him on a tree.

The first two bodies of (Doroshenko and
Krivonischenko) that were found from the Dyatlov Incident showed an expected
pattern of death. They froze to death. Their clothes were removed by their
friends. It might sound bad, but this is the reality of Siberia. If you can't
keep yourself warm, you will die quickly. One of the most common myths that
surround these deaths is a theory of so- called "paradoxical undressing". This
theory ignores the fact that the bodies were undressed after they died and it
was done by other members with a help of a knife in some cases. Different
articles of clothing were simply cut from the dead bodies or taken off and used
by other members of a group. These tourists clearly showed logical will to live.
There was no state of panic and there was no illogical actions. Bodies were
carefully and respectfully laid side by side and their possessions were divide
among the survivors.

Zinaida Kolmogorova

Zinaida was better dressed than bodies
underneath the cedar. She had two hats, long sleeved shirt, sweater, another
shirt and a sweater with torn cuffs. It was unclear whether she cut them off or
they were torn by another person. She also had trousers, cotton athletic pants,
ski pants with three small holes on the bottom. She also had three pairs of
socks. No footwear and a military mask.

- swelling of meninges (important
feature of hypothermia)

- frostbites on the phalanges of
fingers (2)

- numerous bruises on hands and palms
(2 and 3)

- a long bruise that encircled her on
the right side, 29* 6cm (1 and 4)

Amount of urine in bladder is 300 g.
Her cause of death was proclaimed as a hypothermia due to violent accident.
Further studies proved that she was not sexually active at the time of her
death.

Igor Dyatlov

The head of the deceased was bare. He
had unbuttoned fur coat with pockets, a sweater, long sleeved shirt, ski pants
over his pants. Footwear was absent. He had only one pair of socks, woolen on
the right, cotton on the left. It is hard to explain this uneven distribution.
It could be that he had two socks on one foot and later took it off to protect
the other bare foot. It might have been someone else's sock who simply gave it
away to protect a friend from a certain death. He had a pocket knife and a photo
of Zina Kolmogorova. The clock on the hand showed 5:31

- minor abrasions on the forehead
(1)

- abrasions above the left eyebrow of
brown- red color (2)

- brown- red abrasions on both cheeks
(3)

- dried blood on lips

- lower jaw had a missing incisor, the
mucosa was intact that suggest the tooth was lost long before the final trip

- on the lower third of the right
forearm and the palm surface many small scratches of dark red coloration (4)

- metacarpophalangeal joints on the
right hand had brown red bruises. This is common injury in hand to hand fights.
To get a better idea of the injuries just make a fist. This is the part of the
hand which you use to hit someone.

- brownish- purple bruises on the left
hand, also superficial wounds on the 2nd and 5th finger (5)

There were no internal injuries. Amount
of urine in the bladder about one liter. The cause of death was hypothermia.
Later Yury Yudin will testify that the long sleeved shirt found on the body of
Igor Dyatlov was his. But he gave it to Doroshenko then he was departing. It
would be logical to assume that Dyatlov got it from a frozen body of the
Doroshenko after he had died.

Rustem Slobodin

Rustem wore a long sleeve shirt,
another shirt, sweater, two pairs of pants, four pairs of socks. Unlike previous
bodies he wore one boot on his right leg. His watches stopped at 8:45am. His
pockets had 310 rubles and a passport. Additionally searchers discovered a
knife, pen, pencil, comb and a match box with a single sock.

- minor brownish red abrasions on the
forehead, two scratches are 1.5 cm long at the distance of 0.3 cm between them
(1)

- brownish red bruise on the upper
eyelid of the right eye with hemorrhage into the underlying tissues (2)

- traces of blood discharge from the
nose (3)

- swollen lips

- swelling and a lot of small abrasions
of irregular shape on the right half of the face (4)

- abrasions on the left side of the
face (5)

- epidermis is torn from the right
forearm (6)

- bruises in the metacarpophalangeal
joints on both hands. Similar bruises are common in hand to hand combat (7)

- brown cherry bruises on the medial
aspect of the left arm and left palm (8)

- bruises on the left tibia in
dimensions at 2.5* 1.5 cm (9)

Fracture of the frontal bone and
hemorrhages (shaded areas) in the temporalis muscle that were found on the skull
of Rustem Slobodin. Boris Alekseevich Vozrojdenniy suggested that this could be
done with some foreign blunt object. Medical autopsy further states that
Slobodin probably suffered loss of coordination due to initial shock right after
the blow that could speed up his death from hypothermia. However the conclusion
is predictably careful. Death of Rustem Slobodin is judged as a result from
hypothermia. All bruises and scratches were blamed on last minute agony.
Although it is still somewhat unclear how did he manage to harm his exterior
hands and legs. When the person falls even in an irrational state it is usually
the palms that suffer the most as well as medial aspects of the legs. Injury to
the head are less common, especially bilateral ones. It is also usual to harm
the face and sides of the skull while the back of the head has no damage. In
case of Slobodin body we see the opposite. His injury pattern is a reverse of
what we would usually see in injuries suffered by a freezing man in the last
minutes of his or her life. It looks as if Rustem fell repeatedly on his face as
he was walking down the mountain. And every time he fell he managed to hit the
sides of the his head. It is unusual to see in a man who was probably in a
better physical shape than anyone in the group. Even a long ski trip could
hardly be responsible for this alleged "clumsiness

The remaining four bodies were inspected on May 9th, 1959. Their bodies were
found several months after their deaths by a Mansi native Kurikov with his dog.

Ludmila Dubinina

Ludmila wore a short sleeve shirt, long
sleeve shirt, and two sweaters. The body was covered by underwear, long socks,
two pairs of pants. External pair was badly damaged by fire and subsequently
ripped. She also wore a small hat and two pairs of warm sock. A third sock was
not paired. Ludmila apparently in the last attempt to preserve her feet took off
her sweater and cut it in two pieces. One half she rapped around her left foot.
Another half she left or dropped unintentionally on the snow.

- 2, 3, 4, 5 ribs are broken on the
right side, two fracture lines are visible (3)

- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ribs are broken on
the right side, two fracture lines are visible (4)

- soft tissues of the upper lip are
missing, teeth and and upper jaw is exposed

- massive hemorrhage in the heart's
right atrium

- bruise in the middle left thigh, size
10*5cm (6)

- damaged tissues around left temporal
bone, size 4*4cm (7)

Occasionally you hear claims that the
tongue was ripped, or eaten, or whatnot. The medical records simply that "the
tongue is missing". Vozrojdenniy describes missing hypoglossal muscle as well as
muscles of the floor of the mouth. That is it. There is no explanation,
theories, condition of the surrounding tissues. It looks weird especially given
the fact previous bodies had more detailed autopsies. There is no credible
explanation for this vague statement. Although it is mentioned that the stomach
contained about 100 g of coagulated blood. It is used by some as an indication
that the heart was beating and the blood was flowing when tongue was removed
from a mouth. The cause of death is stated as hemorrhage into right atrium of
the heart, multiple fractured ribs and internal bleeding.

Both Zolotarev and Dubinina have an interesting pattern of injuries. They are
very similar in direction and force despite difference in shape, height and body
composition of the two. This would suggest that whatever caused these injuries
was not a single uniform event.

- multiple fractures to the temporal
bone, with extensions to the frontal and sphenoid bones (1), the close up of the
fractures to the skull is shown below

- bruise on the upper lip on the left
side (2)

- hemorrhage on the lower forearm, size
10*12cm (3)

Vozrojdenniy, who undertook the
autopsy, excluded accidental fall on the rock as a possible cause for such a
massive and unusual fracture. Some theorized that the shape might be due to
pressure applied during alleged avalanche that hit unsuspected tourists while
they slept in the tent. If Nikolay slept on a camera this sudden increase in
pressure could leave a mark on his head, however the shape of the lens is round
and the damage would have a more round shape. Another reason why some
specialists refused this theory is a massive hemorrhage that would make
Thibeaux- Brignolle unable to move on his own and leave the site of the tent.
There was no signs of dragging on the snow and foot prints suggest that everyone
in the group moved on their own two feet

Summary

Tent is ripped from
the inside. Initially the fact was overlooked, but a woman who worked for the
police department laundry services clearly identified that the damage came from
the inside. Further expertise proved her hypothesis to be correct.

Nine tourist leave
the tent with little clothes while outside temperature dipped to -30°C (-22°F).
Most of them lacked proper footwear. Warm clothes, boots are left inside the
abandoned tent. Survivors go to extreme lengths to preserve themselves in their
harsh conditions. They even cut the clothes of their dead friends to protect
themselves. They even dig a den that does not save them. Thus the theory of
"paradox undressing" has no support in the available facts.

One of the poles
show signs of damage made by the knife.

Presence of
radiation on the cloths that were worn by one of the members of the group (George (Yuri) Krivonischenko).

Kolevatov kept a
personal diary. Yuriy Yudin, the only survivor of the group, testified that it
was with him on the last trip. The diary went missing.

Judging by the
pictures of the group at least one of the cameras went missing.

Strange
unidentified cloth "obmotki", an old school version of socks, was found near the
bodies.

Missing tongue.
Cause is unknown. What makes the fact more mysterious is lack of coherent
explanation or description of the damage. Autopsy doesn't mention the state or
nature of the surrounding tissues.

The bodies of the
dead tourists show signs of unexplained damages including broken ribs, scrapes
and etc.

Semen Zolotarev
introduces himself as "Alexander" to the group. In fact common memorial to the
group lists his name incorrectly.

Semen Zolotarev and
George (Yuri) Krivonischenko are buried separately from the rest of
the group on a cemetery that is officially closed for several years.

Several theories arose in the last decades concerning the case of Dyatlov Pass
accident

Criminals

Siberia at the time of the tragedy was still a land of Gulag. Many political
prisoners were released in 1953- 56, but criminals were still behind bars. Many
small concentration camps were dispersed all over the region. The closest was
Ivlag situated just few miles from a site of a tragedy. Although it is true that
there were no escapes around the time of the tragedy it doesn't mean that it
never happened before. History knows many examples then prisoners would escape
and go into hiding for years and even decades at a time. They could have easily
missed death of Stalin in 1953 and subsequent amnesty to all political
prisoners. Young tourists could be taken for unwanted witnesses and subsequently
killed. If you take in consideration that many of the political prisoners came
straight from the fronts of the World War II it is plausible that these people
knew how to kill and were open to the idea. Furthermore Yury Yudin discovered a
piece of clothing that did not belong to any of the members of the group. This
"obmotki" is a wide piece of clothing that are wrapped around feet or legs to
keep them warm. They have distinct shape and made from a particular material.
They were widely used among the soldiers in the 40's and later among the
prisoners of Stalin's concentration camps. No body knows how it got here and no
body knows how it disappeared from the evidence room. But it did. This was debunked

Special forces:

Soviet

Another theory
blamed the deaths of tourists on Soviet special forces that simply got rid of
unwanted witnesses. People who oppose this scenario point out that none of the
rescuers even reported any unusual footprints. Since most of the members of the
group had no footwear on one or both legs, their prints were easily recognizable
and distinguishable. However the footprints were never closely examined. No one
expected to find the tourists' bodies and missing this key proof is plausible.
It is true that government officials were more or less aware of a general route
that the group will undertake, but accidents do happen. Soviet Union was still
trying out its R- 12 rockets that they adopted in March 1959. Not all launches
were successful. And Soviet engineers certainly did not want to scream about
their failures. Furthermore the home town of students Sverdlovsk (now
Yekaterinburg) was encircled by several units of anti- aircraft rockets. Let's
not forget that through much of the 50's Soviet army was basically defenseless
against American spy planes. The first success actually happened a year later in
May of 1959 then Soviet rockets shot down U2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary
Powers just 67 km (43 mi) west of Sverdlovsk. Soviet intelligence still keeps
many of its secrets and hasn't revealed any information on the events that took
part in February of 1959.

Western

Now it might seem
like implausible and outright dumb, but it has right to be told anyway. This
theory is based on the fact that American and Western spies had hard time
working in Soviet Union in the 50's. Stalin's secret police followed every
foreigner that set foot in Russia. So the only way to deliver any information
that was crucial was through illegal spy system. This ring of Soviet nationals
willing to work for capitalists was especially essential in remote regions of
the Soviet Union where nuclear industry was being expanded and developed.
Obviously the foreigners were not allowed even close to these sites. So Western
intelligence agencies attempted to get Soviet citizens to do all the work for
them. There they would pick up needed information that they would deliver back
by all means possible. The race for nuclear weapons put greater pressure on the
CIA since there was no quick way to proof or disprove that certain site was
working for nuclear enrichment. The only way to verify possible site was by
delivering any object that contained radioactive material. For example Tomsk- 7
was correctly identified as a site of Soviet nuclear enrichment program by a
single ski hat in 1955. It sound absurd now, but in a state of fear and paranoia
this was the only way to spy on Soviet Union. Russians were not stupid either.
They repeatedly fooled Western by radioactive- tainted material from places that
had nothing to do with it. This brings us to so called theory of Western
intelligence involvement. According to this theory two or more members of the
Dyatlov group were hired by the KGB to deliver fake proof of radioactive tainted
clothes. The rest of the group was probably unaware of the real purpose of their
journey.

Zolotarev and
Krivonischenko might have been the best candidates for this delivery.
Krivonischenko worked for a closed facility that was involved in the development
of the Soviet nuclear capability. It would be logical to assume that a young and
promising student was approached at some point by agents of the Western
intelligence agency. If he was "touched" by the spies he might have reported
this to an "osobist", a KGB agent working on the site. This would make
Krivonischenko a pawn in a false delivery of radioactive material. But he needed
a man who could spot him in a difficult situation.

Many supporters of
this theory point to Zolotarev as a possible second agent. He had an experience
in a war. He presented himself under a different name to a group. If we look at
his official biography it becomes stranger. He mentions serving in the military
engineer unit. They usually were first to clear enemy defenses and fell an easy
prey to hostile fire. Their losses were simply horrific. Some units lost up to
80% of the their soldiers in just few days of battle for Konigsberg and Berlin.
They were offered metal breast plates to reduce casualty rate, but it had little
effect in an overall picture. These were basically suicidal units. And Zolotarev
managed to serve in one. But here is where normalcy of his resume ends. We start
to get peculiarities and questions about his previous life.

He joined the army
in October of 1941, but reached the frontlines on May 10th of 1942. In the time
then officers were trained for only 3 months and solders got only few days (if
they got lucky) of basic training, Zolotarev get full 6 months. He should have
been rushed to the front and killed like 97% of all men born with him in the
same year. But this does not happen. Furthermore we know that he received 4
medals. This is a lot for a Soviet soldier. Most did not live that long or did
not fit the qualifications to receive one. In Soviet Union there were multiple
reasons for nor receiving a medal. This included nationality for example.
Beginning from 1944 Chechens were not granted any signs of distinction. Chechen
families were deported to Kazakhstan beginning on February 23rd, 1944. Giving
medals to their sons, brothers and fathers would raise too many question on a
legitimacy of such harsh treatment. Another reasons why you couldn't get
distinguished by the government was your social background and the region of the
country. Zolotarev was a Cossack (a Russian subculture of professional soldiers/
peasants from the Southern Russia) and he was son of a doctor. Cossacks were too
religious and too independent and automatically raised eyebrows in Kremlin. This
automatically reduced his chanced to receive any medals. And yet he managed to
pull through. He mentions four signs of distinction in his official biography-
resume, but he doesn't describe the circumstances or even location of military
actions which yearned him these distinctions. The official biography had its
guidelines and were very important before someone would get hired on a job. You
had to write down the exact number of the medal in an official document. If you
didn't, the paper would be returned to you with subsequent inquiry with the
army. You didn't want to lie about receiving military distinction without
actually earning them. This could result in very serious consequences for Semen
"Alexander" Zolotarev. And what do we see? Serial numbers are not mentioned,
units are not mentioned, location is not mentioned and yet the paper is accepted
and filed despite numerous omissions on behalf of Semen Zolotarev. It would be
logical to assume that inquiry that was started might have been cancelled due to
KGB involvement.

As you might
remember Krivonischenko gets arrested for singing and pretending to beg for
money. He gets arrested, but than immediately let go. Some might see a normal
person who didn't want to cancel the trip for a minor transgression. Or it might
have been a planned excuse to leave the group and accept radioactively stained
clothes. As I mentioned before Krivonischenko was present at Kushtumkoy Accident
two years earlier then radiactivity leaked. However being a young professional
he certainly would not keep any of the old clothes. Even helicopter pilots
refused to fly bodies when they heard that radioactivity was present. So it
would be illogical to suggest that Krivonischenko could keep his clothes all
that time. The rest of the trip was planned out. Somewhere along the way they
were supposed to met "lost tourists" and share clothes as a token of good will.
Then they would depart. Something went terribly wrong and these "tourists"
simply killed the whole group. This would explain why someone cut from inside of
the tent. The recipients of dangerous cargo needed a simple view of the mountain
slope while they were searching for any evidence of their presence. As you
remember Kolevatov diary and a third camera went missing and there is still no
answer of its whereabouts. That would also explain the deaths of first five
members. Special forces simply left them to die in the cold to hide their
presence. As it was mentioned earlier tourists had at least two pairs of
footwear. One was used for a trail and another was used during cold nights. Most
of the members had nothing on their feet except for socks. Minor injuries could
be overlooked and deaths could easily be ignored. However something went wrong
and instead of freezing to death the remaining tourists showed stamina and a
will to live. Thus the special forces unit descended down the mountain and
killed the remaining group in a state of panic and furious anger. They retreated
a missing camera, Kolevatov's diary and left clothes since it became evident it
was a set up. Although seemingly an improbable course history of KGB- CIA
relations knows of such "deliveries" made by KGB to fool their American and
British partners.This was debunked

Mansi natives

In the course of
investigation local Mansi tribes also appeared as suspects. Some even remembered
a story from the 30's then a woman geologist ventured into sacred lands of this
proud unconquered nation. She was subsequently tied and thrown in the lake.
Common journal that was found in the tent also talked about the Mansi. However
this theory was abandoned for the lack of evidence or any possible witnesses.
Furthermore Kholat Syakhl was never a sacred place. It was feared and it was
avoided, but no one considered it important for the beliefs of the native
people. If the Mansi were involved in the murder of the tourists they would
probably steal many valuable possession that are so important to survival in the
harsh climate of Sibiria.This was debunked

Avalanche

Danger of avalanche
in the region is quiet common. The Kholat Syakhl mountain is not very tall and
it is certainly not very steep. Furthermore the opponents of this theory suggest
that tourist diaries report a fairly thin snow cover. However these facts
doesn't exclude the possibility of a small avalanche. A portion of the upper
layer of snow could simply shift and role over the tourists as a slab of snow.
This could damage the tent and create havoc among tourists who were suddenly
trapped underneath several feet of snow. It would certainly explain why the tent
was cut from inside. Further retreat would be necessary if the tourists were
worried a second avalanche can strike again. According to the supporters of this
theory Dyatlov Group tried to make their way back to the Auspiya river and
instead made a fatal mistake by descending into a valley of the Lozva river.
After 4 weeks the snow that was rushed down the slope of the mountain was simply
blown off by the strong winds that are common in the region. This would erase
all signs of a natural disaster.

However this theory
has its gaps. From what we can tell from the naked footprints left by the group
everyone seemed to descent with relative ease. It is highly unlikely that three
people with broken ribs and flail chest would be transportable at all. And here
we see several badly damaged men and a woman walk without problems or even help
from any of the members of the group. Secondly these men and women were
experienced and well trained. They knew that chances of freezing to death is
more likely than getting killed by an avalanche. Although the removal of the
damaged tent from an exposed mountain side was out of the question, they had to
retrieve all their warm clothes. And finally if you see on the pictures on
February 1st on the left and February 26th (according to Vadim Brusnicin who is
sitting on a slope of the mountain with his back toward the camera man) on the
right you can see part of the tourist gear that kept its vertical position on
the slope weeks after the tragedy stroke. Furthermore the entrance of the tent
is clearly elevated. Only the middle portion collapse probably due to hasty
escape or weigh of snow simply collecting here. This was debunked

Secret launches/ UFO

Occasionally some
of the conspiracy theorists claim that UFO scared the group away. Although
seemingly incredible this claim might have some base to it. About the same time
Soviet armed forces did launch several rockets from Baykanur base. Although
military claimed the rockets landed in the north Ural mountains, several
geologists 70 km from the mountains saw some glowing and pulsating orbits flying
in the direction of the Kholat Syakhl on a day of tragedy (evening of Febrauary
1st). As part of technological theory there have been suggestions that an
infrasound might have been responsible for sudden unpleasant feelings among the
tourists.

Lev Ivanov, a man
who was in charge of the investigation at the Dyatlov Pass, lived a long life.
In the early 1990's in an interview to a local journalist he made a statement
that during his investigation he and E.P. Maslenikov both noticed that the pines
in the forest were burned at the top. He also claims that A.P. Kirilenko, member
of the Soviet Congress, along with his advisor A.F. Ashtokin forced Ivanov to
take out any reference to the unknown flying objects or other strange phenomena.
This included pictures of flying spheres drawn by the Mansi hunters and other
testimonies. It is true that Soviet Union experienced a boom of interest on
everything unknown. Skeptic might also add that Ivanov gave this interview to
make some money. However we have to mention that Kirilenko became obsessed with
UFO theme. Starting in the early 60's he filed several requests to gain access
to the KGB archives. We don't know what was found in the documents, but it is
undeniably strange that a political figure in USSR paid such interest in this
subject. UFO was not investigated by the official science so it deemed as a
pseudo- religious phenomena. Atheist Soviet Union obviously prohibited any
interest in the subject, especially among members of the highest legislative
body in the country.

These are only few
of the theories. Many are more bizarre, strange and quiet frankly dumb ideas
that circulate out there. Some blame the spirits others blame the paradoxical
undressing that lead to hypothermia. All these theories ignore the fact that
only two bodies showed signs of undressing after they left the tent. And it was
the first two bodies found under the cedar. Their clothes were removed after
they died. We can assume the bodies were beginning to show first signs of rigor
mortis or stiffness after death. The clothes of dead victims were cut off and
later found near the bodies in the den. This proves that people were aware of
the danger of hypothermia and tried everything they could to save themselves.
Why did they leave the tent with all the clothes and boots inside is still a
mystery. Many theories surfaced in the past decades. Few of these, however,
explain a wide range of physical injuries that the group experienced. So there
is no much point in mentioning them.

Unfortunately these were not the last victims of the Kholat Syakhl. From 1960-61
several airplane crashes took away lives of nine pilots and geologists who were
sent here. For a time flights were totally canceled in the region. Among more
recent victims of the mountain was a crash of Mi-8 in 2009. Pilots ignored long
standing unofficial no- fly zone. Fortunately they survived the cash, but they
couldn't explain why their helicopter went down so quickly and without any
warning. Tourists today repeat the track of the Dyatlov group, but none of
groups ever contain 9 people. In the early 2000's a group of 9 tourists under
supervision of rescue crew repeated the same descent down the slope of Kholat
Syakhl. Despite snow cover and night time none of the participants got any
significant bruises or cuts. Those who observed the students did not report any
difficulty in locating members on the mountain side. None of the group members
were lost and vocal/ eye contact was constant between group members at all
times. This only adds to the mystery of what really happened on Kholat Syakhl
that day. The case of Dyatlov Pass deaths remains open.

The whole msytery surounding these deaths,is what made them force them to cut there way through the tent to get out & run into the freezing cold of winter with no protive clotheing & the brazzer injurys they had with no force truma to the skin.

28 comments:

I notice their bladders were measured during autopsy for urine (one almost a liter) and that alcohol was found in the tent. It is not impossible that they were drinking and drunk. It is said they were cooking dinner at the time. The stove was placed at the opening of the tent to vent the stove pipe outwards. Yet the stove pipe is missing from the rescue photos. If this came off during the cooking of dinner, those inside would have been exposed to smoke inhalation. With the stove blocking the way, the only way out was to cut through the tent. Two knife cuts were made at the front of the tent to apparently vent the smoke. When this (apparently) failed, two exits were cut further back to let everyone out.

We now have nine drunks outside making decisions without shoes.

The cut ski pole may have connected with using it to try and move or correct the damaged stove.

If they were just trying to escape from the smoke, they wouldn't have run so far away from the safety of their shelter. I doubt they brought enough vodka to get drunk. The spirit was surely brought for medicinal purpose should the need arise.

Only one piece of wood was found in the tent so unknown what they planned to keep warm with or cook with during their planned 2 day climb up the mountain and return back... since the mountain had no trees to use for fire woood.

Yeah, I was thinking something similar..... but somewhere I read that the stove was put away that night and that they were either too tired to bother with having a hot meal or that there was no fuel left for the stove.

But I can see something happening in that they may have been drinking or been poisoned (carbon monoxide or something) due to the stove and one of them got stupid and destroyed the tent with his knife. Then with a torn up tent they might have figured the best bet was to head to the trees and make a fire. Then in trying to gather wood to make the fire an adequate size, some of them fell out of the tree and that's when the injuries occurred. In trying to keep warm with a small inadequate fire, some of them ended up burning themselves. The three most injured couldn't go far and were accompanied by I think Semen who was not injured and bunkered down in the ravine which Semen prepared after they figured out the fire wasn't going to work since two of their friends had already succumbed. The other three decided going back to the tent was their best bet, but all died on the way.

I would guess that the initial 'accident' happened because of alcohol or fumes, or something (incoherent thinking), but after they abandoned the tent they probably got their wits back, but it was too late since they were in a bad situation that they were unable to get out of.

Whomever wrote this article has done a great job. I've been reading about this for years and ten different articles don't have as much information as this one. Thanks for doing the work and putting it all in one place. There are so many questions. No disrespect to the families at all but, it might warrant exhuming the bodies to reexamine with current technologies and ideas.

Obviously but you get looked at like you came from space if you bring it up. Because people arent intelligent enough to think for themselves. Theyve been led by the nose by their governments for centuries. But the problem is, they cant hold it back much longer. Its have to come out.

Such a sad and grim end to an exciting and well planned excursion across the Siberian Urals. The real mystery here is why they left the safety of the tent? ...without dressing properly in sub-zero temperature, by so doing, signing their own death-warrant. None of the theories hold-up. These young adventurers were experienced in long demanding treks. They knew the dangers and took every precautions to avoid undue hardships. Very soon aware of their predicament, they took every steps to remedy the situation. The three who went back towards the tent, surely, warmed themselves before doing so. Would it take them as long to go back as it did to go down? Maybe a little longer. Who knows? They made it down the slope, they should have been capable of making it back to their shelter. After all they were young, healthy, strong, hardy and tough people. But they didn't? I question that most of them died 6 to 8 hours after their meal. How is it that they all died almost at the same time? Shouldn't some of them have survived longer, days even, considering it was freezing cold? After all they were used to the harshness of the climate having been in it for days. I have no theories only questions. The ones they found in the ravine, how could they have sustained such injuries? They had to be maimed after they reached the ravine otherwise they couldn’t have reached it on their own. There was no sign of an avalanche or of anybody else in the vicinity other than themselves. This is the strangest mysteries ever. I hope one day it is solved but t I truly doubt it.Rest in peace forever you brave Russian tourists.

Probably the most perplexing mystery that has never been solved, and, never will be.My opinion, whatever the cause of the deaths of the nine men on a previous expedition, same area, is responsible. Leans toward the paranormal.

The most mysterious part, would be the footprints, which led away from the tent, after a few meters just suddenly stop. Then the bodies were found in other locations, much farther away from the tend and any footprints. Question is, why did the footstep track stopped where it makes no sense?

In the case of Dubinina whose tongue was missing, apparently someone who knew the group was struck by this. He said he found it odd as she was an outspoken character, quick to speak up when provoked. It was macabre that out of all of them her tongue was removed. The blood in her stomach could only have been ingested if she was still alive to swallow it down as the tongue was removed.

One telling bit of info. Witnesses reported luminous objects/flares in sky at time of incident. One explanation is upper atmospheric lightning. Check this on Wikipedia it causes weird orange lights in sky known in scientific jargon as 'sprites' or 'elves'. More to the point, upper atmospheric lightning is also known to be a cause of infrasound. Prolonged exposure to infrasound causes feelings of dread, terror accompanied by auditory and visual hallucinations. What is at issue then is the nature of the fractures without visible bruising, this evidence is disputed.

The deaths can be explained by hypothermia and a fall into the ravine. What still can't be explained is what caused these experienced hikers to cut themselves out of their tent and flee into the Siberian night not prepared for the elements knowing doing so would be certain death. That's really frightening.

Finally Mystery solveed. Hypothermia? A FALL? HAHAHA Thats gotta take the cake. Nothing has been explained. Show me a report that corroborates for the injuries explained and shown in the photos. I fall?. Must have been a bunch of hell of falls because eyes popped out tongues were gone radiation was found hair was turned gray, a chest was crushed to the point resembled eggshells and pieces were in the internal organs yet not a bruise or cut was on the mans chest sides or back.The Radiation, gray hair, missing eyes, missing toungue, chest crushed like a 747 ran over one not any flesh cuts let alone bruises. You, either have not done your homework, or arent competent to agree with the lead investigator, who by the way resigned rather than sign the bullsh*t report they tried to make him sign. What on earth could scare people so bad to make them cut their way out of a tent thats 40 below 0, shoeless unclothed, and climbing trees? If you got it figured out then lets have it. Hypothermia is a joke. Last tim I seen hypothermia, it didnt cause radiation, premature graying of hair, eyeballs ripped out, tongue missing crushed ribcage like god himself squeezed him without touching him. Oh BTW they were experienced Russian youthful hikers used to harsh conditions. Hypothermia, after weeks of being in the woods. WHat a joke. Im sorry but I cant stand when people who put these crazy excuses that can be erased by any one of dozens of facts about multiple individuals. Hypothermia may have killed a couple, after they were to scared to go back. But what about the ones who were KILLED or at the very least mutilated. The russians arent stupid. They knew nothing fit the excuses they were coming up with. So they blew smoke up peoples ass. Sorry bud hypothermia, dont cut it. Read more. Books pictures, hard to find pictures and maybe youll see why the investigator would not sign that paper. Reading and watching things that tell the facts, and dont omit the gruesome parts to appease the producers or try to get ratings. There are parralells in history, Brazil 1988, Animal mutilations Not cattle, seals, horses, deer, you name it youll find mutilated animal species in areas that humans dont frequent, and they parralell this in many ways. What it means I dont know. bt the facts are too similar too ignore. I wonder if any facts that werent released, and im sure there were many, would fit other mutilations. And noone ever brings up that there were lights seen in the sky that night in the area. Why do they call this Mountain of the dead, or the locals call it named it "Do Not Go There". Two years ago I would have said some dumb thing like some statements because I have a science background. But I have found we think we know it all, yet every generation of scientist proves the last wrong. The ones who try to further science get laughed at or pushed aside, lose careers only to find academia was wrong and the guy who was calling Einstein names now is the fool. The guy who said we could never get to the moon just prior, is now a fool, humans will never fly, he isnt too highly thought upon and remembered for that thought, Paraphrasing again, Giordano Bruno..All stars are suns, with planets of their own possibly with life, said in the 16th centure, he was burned alive. And its going on now. Just look into it. I hate conspiracy theorists in general, but there are certain ones that go on.

I find it easy to imagine that something frightened them out of their tent and I wonder if whatever it was was inside the tent. An inside job perhaps. One among the hikers the culprit of much. That's a possibility. But whatever it was was enough to send nine otherwise sound people off into the Siberian wilderness must have been pretty scary for reason to fail so hard. The lack of clothing was simply being caught unawares and snap judging your chances of survival greater if you don't stop to grab your shoes. Something pretty damn scary. I want to know what it was. Minor lacerations indicating fisticuffs in two hikers should raise the question of fighting within the group. There could have been a disagreement. Or the attacker could have been from the inside. Or they attempted a defence against an assailant from outside the group. The blunt trauma to the side of the skull and it's shape and location on two bodies leave an image in my mind of someone grabbing two people's heads and knocking them together. Unusual to say the least location and shape, in any other scenario. Side trauma most likely administered in fighting. There is large indication these people fought for their lives. The skin in the mouth from the back of the hand. Why would you bite your own hand like that? To keep from screaming. That's why. At the dugout. The fact they made it to a shelter and built upon it. But here the death is far more violent. Perhaps the group found their best chance in splitting up. But here the scene has every indication of a fight. The only thing missing is bruises. If you crush someone to death quick enough maybe they don't bruise. Maybe the tongue wasn't cut out maybe it was torn. Details are sparse. Multiple corpses missing eyeballs. How does that happen. Why does that happen. Why he and not there by the cedar? This was death by some means other than the rest of the group. These people were attacked and killed. It simply can't be any other way and achieve this result. I don't know as I believe in UFOs but certainly there is an unseen hand in these events.